Witch Hazel Flowering

Well despite our region getting about ten inches of snow over the course of two days, the little Witch Hazel plant I planted decided to flower. It's only a few twigs currently so it's nothing special right now. In years to come though hopefully it will turn into a nice sized small tree/shrub. But that's what worries me.

There are two main species in the US when it comes to this genus. Hamamelis virginiana, grows to be 20' tall and flowers in winter sometime before the new year. Hamamelis vernalis, grows to be 10' tall and flowers sometime between January and April.

This particular shrub was a cultivar of which there are now dozens on the market, tweaking the flower and leaf color to all new extremes. I was told that this one was more closely related to the smaller H. vernalis but the bloom time is early, suggesting it's actually more closely related to H. virginiana. I'm grateful to have flower in winter regardless of when it blooms but I planted it right up front by the street light where a medium sized shrub would look good, not a tree. I may have to move this plant next spring.